Why does help-to-buy only help buyers of new homes?

It has raised the ire of many a first-time buyer who has their eye on a “doer-upper” or other type of second-hand property, but the Government’s decision to incentivise the purchase of new homes only in the most recent budget is nothing new.

Indeed, from the introduction of the initial first-time buyer (FTB) grant back in 1977, governments have used the grant as a demand-side tool which it hopes will have a supply-side impact by boosting the construction of new homes.

Mortgage interest relief, which offers relief on the amount of interest a first-time buyer pays on their mortgage, has also been used as a tool to help buyers get their first step on the property ladder, as has stamp duty, which, in its various iterations since 2000, has offered lower rates to first-time buyers.

Whether it works, of course, is another matter; many have suggested the new grant of as much as €20,000 will simply be passed on to the developer in the form of higher prices. This seemed to be the view of the government back in 2002, when it abolished the FTB grant on similar grounds.

Below is a brief summary of incentives offered to first-time buyers in Ireland since 1977.

1977-2002: First-time buyer grant of up to €3,810

In 1977 a new house grant scheme, at a rate of £1,000 (€1,270), was introduced to encourage new house building. The grant was available to first-time buyers who purchased a new dwelling of not more than 125sq m and not less than 38sq m in size, for use as their principal residence. At the time, a house could be bought for as little as £11,000 (€13,970), while the average new house price was about €18,754 or €19,055 in Dublin. This meant that the FTB grant accounted for about 7 per cent of the purchase price of a new home.

The grant continued until 2002, but the level of the grant did not increase proportionately and stood at €3,810 when it was abolished in November of that year. At the time, the average new house sold for €198,087 nationally, or €256,109 in Dublin. This meant that the grant accounted for just 2 per cent of the national purchase price.

Take-up of the grant rose significantly between 1990, when just 5,072 grants were paid out, and 1996, when 10,826 grants offered. Between 1996-2002, as the housing market started to take off, take-up of the grant remained at about 10,000 a year.

The grant was abolished in a controversial move in November 2002 when then minister for the environment Martin Cullen said the grant had “returned little benefit to consumers” and had “simply been absorbed in the increased profits of builders” over the past five years.

Mr Cullen said the grants had helped to push up house prices. Abolishing them should encourage home builders to “look at their margins” he said at the time.

2000-2010: Stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers

Lower rates of stamp duty have also been used as a tool to incentivise first-time buyers, and in turn, the construction of new homes. In 2000, the then government introduced a new regime whereby FTBs could avoid stamp duty, at a rate of up to 9 per cent , by buying a property worth up to €190,500. Above that price threshold, first-time buyers paid a lower rate of 3 per cent (otherwise 4 per cent) on properties worth up to €254,000 and 3.75 per cent on properties up to €317,500 (otherwise 5 per cent). Above that the rate levied was between 4.5 - 9 per cent.

Stamp duty exemptions for purchasers of second-hand homes were enhanced in the 2005 budget, meaning that FTBs did not pay any stamp duty on purchases of up to €317,500. Thereafter the rate started at 3 per cent and rose to 9 per cent. The raising of the stamp duty thresholds made second-hand homes more attractive. Buyers of new homes continued to be exempt from stamp duty on new residential property up to 125sq m.

From March 31st, 2007, first-time buyers were exempted from stamp duty irrespective of the cost of their house, and irrespective of whether it was new or second-hand.

2010-2016: Stamp duty cut to 1 per cent for all

As austerity hit in the aftermath of the property crash, the government changed its tack by levelling the playing field. Since December 8th, 2010, stamp duty has been levied at a rate of 1 per cent on all property purchases up to a value of €1 million, and 2 per cent on those above this threshold.

2016-2019: Help to Buy

Announced in Budget 2017, the help-to-buy scheme will offer FTBs a rebate of as much as €20,000 on income tax paid over the previous four years. First time buyers will be able to claim the rebate of as much as 5 per cent of the purchase price from January 2017, for all purchases dating from July 19th, 2016. Critically, however, the scheme only applies to new properties.

The scheme is due to run until December 31st, 2019.